And Apple appears to own the patents around this technology, though it seems a patent has yet to be formally issued. Some of the technology appears to have come from a company called Fingerworks, which was founded by two former University of Delaware professors and ceased operations in June, 2005. The founders may now be working with Apple, Reitzes says. Both Apple and Fingerworks are defendants in a patent lawsuit brought in January by Quantum Technology Management, a British outfit that says it owns a patent on "capacitive field sensing" that's being infringed by the two companies.